Resettlement policy framework and specific resettlement action plan

Cash incomes of leasehold farmers’ families are much larger than those of the dehkan households. In December 2008, total cash income of the surveyed farmers’ households was 498,000 soums (USD 360), and the average per capita monthly income was 77,000 soums (USD 56)¹¹. Incomes measured through expenditures are even much higher than incomes from cash income. Cash expenditures of leasehold farmers’ families in December 2008 averaged 709,000 soums (USD 514) and per capita monthly expenses were 118,000 soums or USD 86. None of leasehold farmers’ households live on USD 1 per person a day or below, but, according to the SA-2007 survey, about 60 percent of the Project area population did so. Moreover, 95 percent of surveyed farmers considered themselves rich; only 2 of these farmers (5 percent) consider themselves poor¹².

All of the 37 Project affected farmers have their own garden plot (tomorka) on irrigated lands with an average size of 0.2 ha, of which 0.1 ha is occupied by crops, gardens, and vineyards. This additional garden plot owned by leasehold farmers is significantly larger than those held by dehkan farmers. The leasehold farmers use their garden plots effectively; the average cash income they make from marketing the crops they raised on these plots for last 12 months was 488 thousand Sums (US$375). Additionally, the average consumption from these plots in 2008 was 341,000 sums (US$260 a year). The Social Assessment conducted in 2007 showed dehkan farms to have higher productivity; the first group of leasehold farmers that will be affected by the Project also obtain higher yields from their dehkans than other farmers.

Thirty four of the 37 leasehold farmer households (92 percent) have livestock on their garden plots. The average livestock they hold consists of 3.6 cows and 5.2 sheep (comparing with 2 cows and 3 sheep as the average for the Project area households). Even in December 2008, incomes from the sale of home grown agricultural products, including livestock products grown on the family dehkan plot, constituted 21.7 percent of leasehold farmers’ household incomes. Additionally, 38.3 percent of incomes came from the leasehold farm activities and 6.2 percent was from the salary of farmers. Overall, the agricultural incomes of leasehold farmers, even in winter, constituted more than 65 percent of their cash household income. Leasehold farmers’ plots are also an important source of forage and are also used to graze livestock (Table 2).